( Konoha Council Chambers)
The air in the Hokage's council chambers was thick with the scent of old paper and stale pipe smoke. Sarutobi Hiruzen sat at the head of the table, flanked by his three advisors and Shimura Danzō. The quarterly review of the Academy's graduating class was a necessary, if tedious, affair.
"The results are, as expected, average," reported Homura Mitokado, sliding a folder across the polished wood. "Of the twenty-seven teams formed, only nine passed their jonin-sensei's final examination. A success rate of thirty-three percent, consistent with previous years."
Koharu Utatane adjusted her glasses, her gaze sharp. "The clan children have all passed, of course. The Ino-Shika-Cho succession is secure, as are the Hyuuga and Aburame teams. But what concerns me is this report from Namikaze Minato." She tapped a separate file. "Team 7. A failure."
Sarutobi picked up the file, his expression unreadable as he scanned Minato's neat, precise script. The report was concise. It detailed how the two civilian kids, Judai and Machi, had demonstrated surprisingly effective teamwork. They communicated with non-verbal cues, anticipated each other's movements, and even attempted to set up their prodigious teammate for the final objective.
But their efforts were ultimately undone. Hatake Kakashi, operating under the belief that his skill alone was sufficient, had refused to coordinate. He'd ignored their signals, broken their formations, and treated them as liabilities rather than assets. The report noted that while the civilians displayed only a rudimentary grasp of Academy-standard techniques, Kakashi had showcased a stunning aptitude for Doton and Suiton jutsu, as well as a mastery of his father's tantō that was well beyond his years. He was, in every sense of the word, a prodigy.
The teamwork of the two, however commendable, was simply washed away by the sheer individual talent and stubborn pride of the one.
Sarutobi closed the file. "Your opinions?"
"The boy Kakashi is a generational talent," Homura stated immediately. "He cannot be allowed to stagnate. Assign him a private instructor. Let him proceed as a solo genin until he matures."
"I disagree," Koharu countered. "A private instructor, yes, but leaving him to his own devices will only reinforce his current flaws. His inability to work with others must be addressed. Another year in the Academy, with a curriculum focused on team dynamics, is the appropriate course."
Danzo, who had remained silent until now, spoke, his one visible eye glinting. "The boy is a weapon. Konoha is on the verge of war, and we waste a weapon of his caliber in a classroom? He needs to be sharpened, not coddled. Give him to me. Root will forge him into the perfect tool for the village."
"Absolutely not," Hiruzen said, his voice firm, cutting off any further debate on that point. The back-and-forth between him and Danzō was a familiar dance, but the safety of the White Fang's son was a line he would not allow to be crossed. "Kakashi's talent will not be wasted. He will be assigned to Minato as a personal apprentice. It is clear a standard team structure is not suitable for him at this time."
A small, almost imperceptible smile touched the Hokage's lips. This was the outcome he had anticipated, the one he had subtly guided them towards.
"And what of the other two?" Homura asked, his tone dismissive. "The orphans."
"What of them?" Koharu scoffed. "They failed. They showed little talent beyond the Academy basics. They will be sent back for remedial training, as is standard procedure."
"No," Danzō said, his voice cutting through the room again. All eyes turned to him. "The report states they functioned properly as a unit. They attempted to facilitate teamwork. They were failed by their teammate, not by their own merits. They do not deserve to be punished. Place them in the Genin Corps. They have proven they can follow a strategy. Let them serve."
Hiruzen was inwardly stunned. Why was Danzō, the man who valued only exceptional talent, speaking up for two unknown, clanless children? A seed of suspicion planted itself in the Hokage's mind. Danzō must have seen something in their files, some latent potential he wished to cultivate for his own ends. But he couldn't object. Danzō was right. They didn't deserve to be sent back.
"An astute observation, Danzō," Hiruzen conceded, masking his surprise. "Very well. The orphans Judai and Machi will be assigned to the Genin Corps."
(Flashback to the Bell Test)
Five minutes left.
The plan was working perfectly. I had managed to lure Minato into a clearing, using a series of hit-and-run shadow clone diversions. He was fast, impossibly fast, but predictable. He always went for the most obvious threat.
"Now, Machi!" I yelled.
From the trees, a dozen nearly invisible chakra strings shot out, wrapping around Minato's limbs. He paused, surprised, looking down at the threads. "Impressive," he admitted. "To think a genin could master such a precise technique."
"Don't get cocky, sensei!" Machi shouted from her hiding spot. She strained, her knuckles white, holding the future Hokage in place.
This was it. The culmination of our plan. I took a deep breath, cycling through the hand signs. "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" I roared, spitting a respectable-sized ball of flame directly at him. I saw Minato's eyes widen slightly; a jutsu of this caliber wasn't in my Academy file.
He was trapped. The fireball was coming, and his limbs were bound. He would have to use a replacement jutsu or take the hit. Either way, his guard would be down for a split second. And that was the signal.
From the opposite side of the clearing, a blur of motion. Kakashi. He was moving in, just as we'd planned. All he had to do was grab the bells while Minato was distracted. We had handed him the victory on a silver platter.
But the arrogant little shit just couldn't stick to the script.
Instead of going for the bells, Kakashi flashed through his own hand signs. "Water Style: Water Bullet Jutsu!" He spat a jet of water, not at Minato, but directly at my fireball.
The two jutsu met mid-air with a hiss, erupting in a cloud of thick, blinding steam.
"What are you doing?!" Machi screamed, her concentration breaking. The chakra strings went slack.
In the chaos, Kakashi charged forward, his tantō drawn. "I don't need your help, loser! I'll take the bells myself!"
He thought it was his brilliant counter that had created the opening. The idiot didn't realize the opening was already there. He swung his blade at Minato's hip, aiming for the bells. Minato, now free, simply sidestepped, grabbed Kakashi's wrist, spun him around, and pinned him to the ground in a single, fluid motion.
BRRRNNNNG!
The timer went off. The test was over.
Minato let Kakashi go and stood up, dusting himself off. He looked at us, not with anger, but with a sad, disappointed smile. It was a look that hurt more than any lecture.
"You fail," he said softly.
He looked at me and Machi. "You two understood the meaning of the test. You worked together, you formulated a plan… you almost had me. But a chain is only as strong as its weakest link." His gaze shifted to Kakashi, and the disappointment in his eyes deepened. "And you, Kakashi, are a truly exceptional link. So exceptional, you refuse to be part of the chain at all."
He sighed. "Report to the Academy tomorrow at 7 a.m. to re-enroll with the returning students." With that, he vanished in a cloud of smoke.
Kakashi scrambled to his feet, his face a mask of cold fury. He glared at us. "This is your fault," he spat. "If you two weren't so weak, if you could have just kept up, I would have passed."
Machi looked like she was about to explode. "Our fault?! You arrogant little brat! We had him! We set it up for you and you ruined it! You Ruined everything!"
In the next moment , Machi's anger crumbled, and she started to cry. Soft, defeated sobs. "We failed," she hiccupped.
"Oh wow," I said, clapping slowly. "Truly inspiring dude. His gaze now on kakashi as he was pissed now seeing maki cry.
"I mean, I just watched you biff a test you were literally handed the win for, and somehow you still managed to twist it into us being the problem? That's talent, dude. Weaponize that level of delusion and the war ends tomorrow."
He bristled. "You're just mad you're weak."
"Totally," I nodded with a smirk. "Weak and poor, too. Real tragedy. Except here's the thing—when the genius gets bodied by a setup his 'weak' teammates handcrafted for him like a wedding gift, maybe the genius ain't as genius as he thinks."
Kakashi looked like he wanted to kill me. I tilted my head.
"But hey, you looked great doing it. Love the part where you water-gunned my Fireball like you were trying to show you could do it all alone. You didn't even notice Minato lowering his chakra to allow you to cut the sring holding his bells. But instead he kept fighting him and shouting like an idiot. Did you notice the moment you said you'd do it all on your own the man started putting chakra to his hands to catch you and end the test. Real alpha move. You even gave Minato time to stretch before he wiped the floor with you."
"Kakashi did you think you were such a genius you could really defeat a jonin in single combat. Not even hairless monkeys are this shit for brains." With Judai making a few monkey sounds to taunt him.
His fists shook, his eye twitched, and I could practically hear the mental breakdown revving in his brain, as no he hadn't paid attention to Minato's chakra levels. But he didn't say a word. Just spun on his heel and stormed off like the world owed him a refund.
I leaned toward Machi and muttered loud enough for him to hear, "Can't wait for him to come back next year with a whole new superiority complex."
Maki let out a small chuckles in between tears from my comments towards Kakashi.
I grabbed her arm. "Come on. We're getting dango."
"I want meat buns," she sniffled.
"Nope. Dango," I said,
I grabbed her arm. "Come on. We're getting dango."
She sniffled, barely lifting her head. "Aren't guys supposed to be nice to girls when they cry? Like… buy them meat buns and tell them thier pretty?"
I looked at her with a straight face. "Yeah, well, when you learn how to cry without making a snot bubble the size of a summoning scroll, I'll start treating you like a lady."
She gasped. "Rude!"
"And accurate," I said, dragging her toward the food stalls.
She blinked at me. Then punched me in the arm. Hard.
"Ow! That was abuse."
"You earned it."
"Fine," I sighed, rubbing my arm. "But now I'm keeping all the pink dango, he said then paused for a moment. That's the best flavor and you don't deserve it."
She smiled, a small blush on her cheeks through her sniffles, wiping her face on her sleeve.
We sat at a small dango shop, a plate of tri-colored mochi balls between us. Machi had finally stopped crying and was now venting, telling me for what felt like the hundredth time about her family and why becoming a respected ninja was so important to them. I listened patiently, not interrupting. I just let her talk. It's what she needed right now.
While she spoke, my own plans began to form. A year. That's what this failure bought us. A year to train without the pressure of the front lines. The plan was simple. I'd use the public library to read up on every D-rank and C-rank jutsu I could find. I'd master tree-walking and water-walking until I could do them in my sleep. I'd bug every civilian-born chunin instructor for spars until they were sick of seeing my face.
We may have failed the test, but we weren't going back to the Academy. Not really. We were going to a year-long training camp. And when we came out, no one, not even Hatake Kakashi, would be able to call us weak ever again.